A Herndon, Va. startup that helps corporations use wearable tech to their advantage, APX Labs Inc., has hired ex-Googler Eric Johnsen as vice president of business development.

During his five-year tenure at Google, Mr. Johnsen created Google Glass at Work, an initiative that encouraged developers to make apps for use on smart glasses, specifically to solve problems for corporations.

Demand for Google Glass and apps that work on smart glasses now abounds among companies that employ “desk-less workers [who] need both hands to do their jobs,” Mr. Johnsen said. Even where a “ruggedized” tablet or smartphone may go, he said, glasses often present a better form factor for workers.

Only a select few developers, including APX Labs, are certified partners via the Google Glass at Work program, disclosed to the public in April this year.

Mr. Johnsen said that the search titan has created the hardware, infrastructure and operating system that make wearable technology, specifically smart glasses, accessible and useful within industries such as manufacturing, medicine, energy, food and agriculture.

But he felt his skills “building enterprise technology ecosystems” should be put to work tackling a new challenge in the market.

Employers already want to harness smart glasses, he said, in a way that benefits workers and improves what they produce. But they also need to integrate wearable devices and affiliated apps with the legacy systems they use to run their operations already.

As Venture Capital Dispatch previously reported, APX Labs (pronounced “Apex Labs”) raised $10 million in Series A funding earlier this year in a round led by New Enterprise Associates.

Meaningful funding, and the quality of APX Labs’ software platform, called Skylight, are part of what drew Mr. Johnsen to the startup.

One thing he said he plans to do for APX Labs is related to his work at Google, helping workers and managers make their enterprise needs known and better-understood by developers. Companies that use APX Labs’ Skylight have created custom apps to help workers get “remote expert” help in the field, whether they’re on an oil rig, or on a factory floor.

Recently, a number of food companies have reached out, Mr. Johnsen said. Because they have a “high pain point around employee turnover,” fast-food and food-manufacturing businesses are interested in developing apps to train and supervise new workers in consistent and safe food prep, he said.

While deep-pocketed companies such as Google always put up a strong fight in the so-called talent wars, Mr. Johnsen joins the ranks of ex-Googlers that include Kim Jabal (Lytro Inc., Path Inc.), Francoise Brougher (Square Inc.), Fred Sadaghiani (Sift Science Inc.) and countless others who have left the search giant in recent years to help build a venture-backed tech startup.

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